1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to an apparatus for testing and indicating the strengths of individual muscles or groups of muscles; and, more specifically, to an apparatus especially well-suited to test and indicate the strengths of individual muscles and the comparative strengths of corresponding muscles. The apparatus can be used successfully in a gym environment for training or rehabilitating purposes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Over the years, various types of equipment have been developed to objectively and quantitatively measure the strength of individual muscles. As a therapeutic tool, such devices are very helpful in that they help a therapist identify specific muscles that need to be strengthened and to design a program that will help those particular muscles. Moreover, a quantitative measurement will tell not only which muscles are weak, but also how weak those muscles are. Further, as a person is undergoing treatment, an objective measure of the progress he or she is making, first, helps the therapist modify the treatment program, if necessary, and second, allows the patient to witness personally the fact that his or her muscles are getting stronger with therapy, which often encourages the patient to continue the treatment. In addition, often a patient may believe he or she is fully recovered and will discontinue treatment. An accurate, quantitative and objective measure of the strength of each muscle may show otherwise, however, and convince the patient to continue treatment.
As an exercise training tool, an objective and quantitative measurement of the strength of individual muscles will help a person or a trainer develop a highly personalized exercise program that concentrates on the muscles that need the most work. Occasional retesting will enable an individual to observe personally the progress he or she is making, and will help show how effective a particular exercise program is and, if it becomes advisable to do so, how a program should be modified. An individual may test and record the strengths of his or her muscles while healthy to provide a personal standard; and if that person is later injured, he or she, while recovering, can compare his or her muscle strengths against that recorded standard to determine whether the muscles have adequately recovered before resuming a particular activity, thus lessening the risk of a re-injury or of a new injury.
Exercising devices and, similarly, muscle strength testing devices are well known in the prior art. For instance, exercising devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,023,756 (Pons); 4,376,533 (Kolbel); 3,759,514 (Cox); and 4,211,405 (Blowsky et al). These patents disclose various exercising devices utilizing push and pull (compression and tension) operating modes with use limited to exercising upper and/or lower extremities. The patent to Pons shows displacement graduations to provide force or strength indication during exercising. U.S. Pat. No. 3,784,195 (Johnson) discloses a push pull exerciser device having one end attached to a fixed surface and having its other end equipped with a two-hand handle without any provision for measurement of force. U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,480 (Wilson) discloses an electromechanical system that relates substantially only to provision of isotonic or isokinetic motion for exercise training.
U.S. Pat. No.4,408,183 (Wills) discloses an exercise monitoring device for measuring force, for variously timing force application, and for counting the number of repetitions of particular exercises.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,170,225 (Criglar et al); 4,246,906 (Winberg et al); 4,450,843 (Barney et al); and 4,461,301 (Ochs) show a variety of biofeedback devices, not necessarily intended specifically for use in muscle exercising or testing. Biofeedback systems employable in conjunction with muscle training and testing are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,916,876 (Freeman) and 4,110,918 (James et al). U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,682 (Silverman et al) discloses a system for acquisition, various processing, and display of a variety of physiological measures for use in enhancement of skilled performance or behavior.
Additional examples of muscle strength testing and indicating apparatuses can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,331,851 (Parviainen et al); 4,972,711 (Jain et al.); 4,882,677 (Curran); 4,824,103 (Smidt); 4,805,455 (DelGiorno et al); 4,742,832 (Kauffmann et al); 4,702,108 (Amundsen et al); 4,333,340 (Elmeskog); and 4,307,608 (Useldinger et al).
As indicated above, the prior art shows a number and variety of small and lightweight relatively specialized testing and exercising devices, each having a particular use in either testing or exercising and being applicable to comparatively few groups of muscles. Some devices provide only tension and some only compression facilities while some provide both; others provide for force measurement, yet others offer only qualitative dynamometric indication, etc.
Therefore, the need exists for a more universally-applicable, lightweight and compact multiple-use devices for testing and exercising of most muscle groups of the human body of interest in training and in evaluation of muscle performance and training progress as well as in medical clinical tasks, adaptable both in their interfacing facilities and in their measurement acquisition, handling, processing, and display and other output capabilities in adequately simple manner to permit use without specialized skill, which devices have neither existed nor been suggested heretofore.